Unreadable
by Donatello8696
Summary: Goodbye was a word Kaidoh and Momo knew well in life. So when a fate chance brings them to meet, will they be able to let go of their pasts?
1. Chapter 1

"Hey, Kaidoh. You play?" Momo called.

Kaidoh looked up from the table he was wiping. Momo was facing away from him, standing a couple yards away from the opposite wall and holding something in his hand. On the wall hung a dartboard. Kaidoh scoffed slightly as he watched Momo flick the dart to the board and raised his eyebrows in an impressed manner when it landed almost exactly in the center.

"That depends," Kaidoh said, finishing the rest of the table and throwing the rag back on the bar. "What are we playing for?"

An amused "hm" came from Momo and he responded, "World peace."

Kaidoh shook his head, successfully keeping the smile off his face. "I guess."

Momo walked to the board and gently yanked them from the board.

"Alright then," Momo said, turning around toward Kaidoh. "How about this? When I win, you buy me a beer and tell me your life story."

Kaidoh only took a few steps toward the younger man, somehow knowing this was going to happen. Ever since he had arrived at the bar to work, Momo had been curious about him. He had dropped enough hints and questions to try and get Kaidoh to reveal anything about himself. So far, Kaidoh had managed to avoid any major questions from the other man. But it was getting harder to ignore, as Momo was getting more and more persistant.

"What if I win?" Kaidoh asked.

Momo shrugged. "Then you win."

Kaidoh nodded. "Sounds fair," he said, reaching out for the darts. Momo grinned and placed them in Kaidoh's palm, stepping aside and waiting expectantly. Kaidoh raised one dart, took careful aim, and sharply brought his hand forward, releasing the object.

It landed almost exactly in the center, as Momo's had. More confident now, Kaidoh released the other darts. Unlike Momo's, which had landed about an inch farther than the center one had, the other two landed dangerously close to the first one, both of them.

Kaidoh turned to Momo. It was Momo's turn to look impressed, his eyebrows raised high. Then he chuckled. "Guess you win," he said, clapping Kaidoh on the back and walking away to the bar. _[1]_

**XXX**

"Kaoru-chan!"

Kaidoh froze at the familiar voice, and he barely had enough time to turn around completely before he was tackled in a glomp, nearly knocking him off his feet.

"Eiji!" Kaidoh said, more than a little surprised to see his old sempai. But there was no denying the red hair and the familiar arms that had encircled themselves around Kaidoh, bringing him in a bone-crushing hug.

"Eiji, be gentle," another familiar voice said firmly, yet there was a trace of amusement in there. Eiji quickly moved away from the younger male and Kaidoh, glad of fresh air, looked at the accompaniment.

"Konbawa, Oishi," Kaidoh greeted.

Oishi smiled warmly. "Konbawa, Kaidoh," Oishi replied.

"What are you guys doing here?" Kaidoh said, not fully recovered from seeing his old friends. "I thought you guys were out there dominating the doubles world in tennis."

"Oh, believe me, we are," Oishi said. "We just decided to take a small break. Visit some old friends."

"Yeah, and we heard you were here," Eiji said, excitement radiating off of him so much that he was almost literally bouncing from the balls of his feet. "Can I ask why you're _here_, though? What happened, Kaoru-chan? I thought you were going to become - "

"Uh, why I get you guys something to drink?" Kaidoh said, stopping Eiji before he could continue. He clapped his hands in front of him. "It's on me."

"No, Kaidoh. You don't have to," Oishi began protesting.

"No, I want to," Kaidoh said, and before they could protest any more, Kaidoh had already turned and disappeared behind the bar.

**XXX**

"So... your parents were drunk when they named you and you're ashamed to work in a bar?"

Kaidoh inclined his head a little to the left to face Momo, who was watching with an amused expression.

Kaidoh had been talking to Oishi and Eiji for the past half-hour, catching up on whatever they had missed throughout the years. Oishi and Eiji had been old friends of his, starting back when they were in middle school together, only one year apart. They remained friends throughout middle school and high school, but after Eiji and Oishi graduated and Kaidoh became a senior in high school, they had lost contact of each other.

So it was nice to get back together with them and talk about everything. God knows how much he had missed them. And it was a little saddening when it came time for them to leave, even after Eiji repeatedly told him that they would stop by again some time soon, Oishi agreeing whole-heartedly.

Kaidoh made a noise that sounded like a "humph" to Momo, causing the black-haired man to grin.

"Well, _Kaoru-chan,_" Momo drawled, walking around the counter and standing in front of Kaidoh, watching him curiously. "What was that thing that you wanted to be after high school?" he asked, sitting on one of the bar stools.

"It's nothing," Kaidoh said, glancing down hurridly at the glasses he was washing. Momo raised his eyebrow; that came out a little too quickly for it to be a normal response. Momo let out a long breath and smacked the counter. Not hard, but enough to make enough noise to get Kaidoh's attention. Kaidoh's head snapped up at the sound and lightly frowned at Momo.

"Okay," Momo said, and for the first time since Kaidoh had met him, Momo was completely serious. "Let me tell you something. I'm usually good at reading people, understanding them. But you are extremely hard for me to figure out. From what I did get from you is you come from Seigaku Middle School and High School, you're an animal person, mainly cats..." Momo smirked at Kaidoh's bewildered expression. "I've seen you feeding the stray cats in the alley out back with some leftovers a couple times already. Not hard to figure out."

Kaidoh furrowed his brows some but didn't press the matter.

"You're highly educated - " Momo began to continue, but was cut off from Kaidoh.

"How do you know that?" Kaidoh said.

Momo titled his head to the right and smiled. "The books you read on your free time. Pretty wordy and high-leveled for someone to be working in a place like this."

Kaidoh dropped his gaze some.

"And other than that," Momo said, and Kaidoh brought his eyes back up. Momo shook his head and shrugged, "...nothing." Momo stood up, clapping his hands together. "So come on."

He began to walk away.

Kaidoh, slightly bewildered, put down the last glass and dropped the towel, staying behind the counter. "Where are we going?" he asked.

Momo stopped and glanced at Kaidoh over his shoulder. "You look like you haven't eaten very well in a long time. I'm going to buy you a decent meal and we're going to talk." _[2]_

And without waiting for a protest or agreement, Momo continued walking, exiting the bar.

Kaidoh paused, and then reluctantly walked around the counter and followed Momo out of the bar.

* * *

**_(1-2)_ I am SO sorry about all my supernatural references throughout my stories. I'm just obssessed with that show! These scenes were taken from the episode **_**Free to Be You And Me,**_** when Sam meets a woman named Lindsey when he tries to get out of the hunting life and she gets really curious about his past. So you'll probably read a lot of these in my future stories. x)**


	2. Chapter 2

"Here. Eat this."

Kaidoh stared, almost awed, at the plate of food placed in front of him. Momo had taken him from the bar over to his small apartment, where he had literally shoved Kaidoh into a seat and said in a stern voice to stay there. Kaidoh really saw no other option but to agree. And he found himself now in his current position, still in the same chair and a full plate of food on the table in front of him.

He could feel his stomach churning, aching as the alluring scent of the ramen reached his nostrils, making his mouth water slightly. But it was quickly overpowered but a sudden nauseating feeling in the pit of his stomach and at the back of his throat, and he gently pushed the plate of food away, keeping the scent away from his nose.

But Momo wouldn't have it. He saw immediately what Kaidoh was trying to do and pushed the plate back, lowering his head and stating in that same stern voice he had used before.

"_Eat."_

Silence. Two eyes staring at the other's. And Kaidoh, seeing no point in arguing, sighed in defeat and grabbed the fork provided for him, and, hesitantly, began to eat.

He had to admit, Momoshiro was a skilled cook. The ramen left no faults, no reasons for it to be rejected as he had. It tasted as good as it smelled, and he realized after only taking one bite how hungry he really was. Soon he found himself eating eagerly, yet reasonably paced; he didn't want to look like a slob.

Momo, clearly satisfied, leaned back from the table.

"Well, now that we got you eating," he said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Let's get you talking."

Kaidoh glanced up, swallowing his bite of ramen. "I thought we agreed I won that game," he said, pointing the fork accusingly at Momo. The latter shrugged.

"What can I say? I'm a sore loser."

Kaidoh scoffed, shaking his head as he returned to his food.

Momo was quiet for a good moment before he finally sighed. "Alright then. How about I tell you a few things about my past? Would you want to tell me anything about you afterwards?"

Kaidoh furrowed his brows and looked up. This time, Momo was completely serious, no trace of his usual amusement in his features. He looked so sincere that Kaidoh found himself growing smaller in a way, taken less seriously. Then he remembered Momo's question and answered, "Depends on whether I feel like it."

Momo pursed his lips, but seemed to think that answer was better than nothing and nodded. "Alright." He sat down in the chair on the right of Kaidoh, folding his hands together and deep in thought. "Well, my past... Where can I start?"

"Well... how about the beginning?" Kaidoh said.

Momo tilted his head to the side. "Hm. And here I was thinking I was gonna start from the end and work my way up."

Kaidoh rolled his eyes, but was somewhat relieved to hear the joking tone back in the other's voice; Momo just didn't seem like Momo without it.

"... Okay. Well," Momo said, finally having decided what to say. "I had a girlfriend. Last year. Her name was Tachibana An. She was a year younger than I was, so when I graduated from high school, we were a little worried about carrying a long term relationship while I went off to college. She convinced me that she would be fine and to go and get an education. I believed her."

Kaidoh frowned, not quite getting the worst part of the story. "And so? You have a girlfriend and she said she would stay loyal to you. What's so bad about that?"

Momo paused for a moment, then stood and walked to his refrigerator. He reemerged carrying a Ponta. He didn't return to the table but instead chose to lean on the counter facing Kaidoh. Opening the Ponta, he took a sip before continuing. "About two months after I left, An called me. She was pregnant."

Kaidoh's brows shot up. "Really? Wow, I mean - "

"It wasn't mine."

That made Kaidoh stop in his tracks. Momo's voice was bitter, almost angry. And yet he remained carrying a calm face, drinking his Ponta indifferently.

"W-Well, I mean, how did you know?"

Momo glanced up, shrugged, and said, "We hadn't... you know."

"Oh."

"So you're asking what was so bad about my story? An was not only unfaithful, but she lied to me. She said that the baby was mine, hoping to get away with it. And when I argued with her that it wasn't, she broke up with me and went with whoever the baby belonged to. I haven't seen her since, and she never called me again."

Momo placed the now empty can of Ponta on the counter. Kaidoh cringed slightly at the loud clang it made as Momo placed it down with more force then necessary. Silence elapsed once more between the two boys as Kaidoh waited for the worst of the storm to pass. When he guessed it was safe and that Momo had calmed down some, Kaidoh spoke.

"Completely different scenerios."

Momo turned to him. "What?"

Kaidoh gestured to himself, then to Momo. "Our pasts. They're two completely different scenerios."

Momo sat down again at the table. "How so?"

Kaidoh didn't know what he was doing. Momo was one of the last people that he had planned on telling a about this, but somehow he just knew that he could trust Momo. Just a feeling of secureness. He could only hope this was a good thing.

He continued. "I was in a relationship once. It was... great. But the feelings weren't mutual. It seemed that every week, there was someone different. Someone better than me. And when I tried to talk about it, I would get an apology and a promise that it would never happen again. And I believed it every time."

Kaidoh could feel the reserved emotions welling inside him, but he successfully kept them inside and awau from his voice and expression. "So finally, I had enough. I left. And now you know what I've been doing since then."

Momo was frowning lightly. "No offense, Kaidoh. But it sounds like _you _were the girl in that relationship."

The joking manner again. Kaidoh smirked a little and glanced up. "That's because, in a way, I kinda was."

Momo frowned deeper. "Wait, what do you..."

Kaidoh raised his eyebrows.

Realization dawned on Momo's face. "... Oh..."

Kaidoh looked down in the empty ramen bowl, fiddling nervously with the fork. "That's why I didn't want to tell you. I didn't want to get judged."

"No, no, I'm not judging you," Momo said. "I was just surprised. I mean, it just doesn't seem like you."

Kaidoh laughed softly. "Believe me, before then, I didn't think it would ever seem like me either."

Momo smiled a little. A uncomfortable eerieness hovered above them in the room, tense and nervous. Momo cleared his throat, at once breaking it, and spoke. "So... What was his name?"

"Inui Sadaharu."

"Inui... Inui... Haven't heard of him," Momo said.

"We were doubles partners in tennis during middle school and high school," Kaidoh said. "We were always talking about how we would make it far and how we would compete for the number one doubles pair in Japan with Eiji and Oishi. They were somewhat our rivals in tennis, but they were our closest friends."

"That's what you wanted to be after school," Momo said. Kaidoh nodded.

And then Momo was satisfied. He finally knew. He finally knew what was troubling Kaidoh. The next thing was how to help him, because Kaidoh didn't seem to be able to stand on his own two feet stably. He could try and help him.

**XXX**

"Bathroom's free!" Momo called as he stepped out of them small, white restroom. Kaidoh appeared around the corner of the hallway and stepped around Momo, entering the room. Kaidoh had agreed to spend the night at Momo's apartment, not really willing to have Momo drive him all the way back to the bar to get his own car. Besides, they were both heading their tomorrow anyway.

Stepping into the bathroom, Kaidoh was unclear of what he was doing and removed his sweatshirt, revealing him in a shirt. Momo, who hadn't left yet, caught sight of something. When he realized what he was seeing he immediately exclaimed, "Kaidoh, what is that?"

Kaidoh jumped as he realized what he had done. Upon taking off the sweater, he had exposed his bare arms. The thin, long, fading cuts were visible in the light of the bathroom, three on each arm, all going vertically and ending at the inside of his elbow. Crazy with embarrassment and shame, he looked up, a look of pleading on his face as he turned to Momo.

"I tried."

And Momo could only stare at him, an unreadable expression on his face.

* * *

**Finally, an update! Wow, I really need to catch up on these fics. High school is a boring hell, though. But the homework keeps me busy. I'm going to try and update as soon as possible. Thanks guys for being so patient! =D**

**Review please!**


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